Songs of Resistance
Like many Americans, I am frustrated at how little I am able to do about the threats to American democracy that are coming thick and fast from people who have sworn to uphold it.
Some of that frustration has found a place in lyrics that come to mind.
So many norms of ethical behavior and common decency have been jettisoned so quickly that we suddenly seem to be in a place with no rules. There is already a song for that, but I have written a new verse for the new order. Cole Porter is no longer with us, so I can only give my best approximation of what he might have wanted to say if he were:
Anything Goes
Times have changed
Now we have single party rule
Ethics standards are just for fools
And the president’s bribes are cool
Congress says
All those luscious emoluments
Not allowed other presidents
Suddenly make perfect sense.
In olden days a single stock tip
Was looked on as awful optics
But now, God knows,
Anything goes
The free press, too, that once found Watergate
Gave us a Russian Candidate
For these pros
Anything goes
If oversized bribes you like
If racist gibes you like
If vicious lies you like
And Russian spies you like
If mean Tweets you like
If plaintive bleats you like
We have plenty of those
When ev’ry day our Congress reps take
Further and extra steps their
Eyes to close,
Anything goes.
Simple songs are good for protest. One childhood song we all know offers many possibilities. I have some lyrics to start with, but this song could work on an open source or wiki basis:
Old Man Donald
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Old man Donald is a pig
And our president
With a grab, grab, here and a grab, grab there
Here a grab, there a grab, everywhere a grab, grab
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Old man Donald is an ass
And our president
With a “me, me” here and a “me, me” there
Here a “me”, there a “me”, everywhere a “me, me”
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Of course, they don’t all have to be animals:
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Old man Donald is a thief
And our president
With a “Bribe me” here and a “Bribe me” there
Here a bribe, there a bribe, everywhere a “Bribe me”
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Or even follow the same sentence structure:
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Old man Donald, Putin’s pet
And our president
With a “Da, da” here and a “Da, da” there
Here a “Da,” there a “Da,” everywhere a “Da, da”
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Or
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Old man Donald, full of hate [because, “bigot,” “racist,” and “sexist” have the wrong number of syllables]
And our president
With a slur thrown here, and a slur thrown there,
Here a slur, there a slur, everywhere a crude slur
Old man Donald shames us all
As our president
Extra verses can be added easily, by anyone, and it can be taken wherever people want it to go (“Old Man Donald is a perv”). The mind boggles. Also, it is easy to sing and easy to remember.
